Carolina Journal Weekly Report

August 10, 2012

RALEIGH — Lumberton officials are using an
unprecedented taxation defense in an Internet sweepstakes lawsuit before
the state Supreme Court that features constitutional separation of
powers issues and arcane legal protections dating from the Great
Depression, reportsCarolina Journal.

Joined by the powerful North Carolina League of Municipalities, the city
is advancing the novel legal argument that the judiciary has no
constitutional authority to review legislative branch decisions setting
rates for business privilege taxes.

Attorneys for the plaintiff Internet café businesses say if the Supreme
Court upholds the Court of Appeals ruling in the case, it will swing
open the doors of municipal mischief by creating an unchecked legal
framework for state and local governments to abuse their taxing
authority.

Government would be granted “unfettered, unreviewable power to tax
anybody and anything within its municipal reach,” said Richard Gottlieb,
an attorney with the Winston-Salem law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend,
which is defending the businesses against 2010-11 tax increases ranging
from 6,000 to 11,000 percent.

“No court has ever said that it didn’t have the power” to decide
constitutional cases involving the state’s just and equitable tax
clause, Gottlieb said.

CJ: UNC campus diversity offices experience few hits from recessionRALEIGH — Recent years have seen some tough
times for employees and students in the University of North Carolina
system, with a number of layoffs, repeated tuition hikes, and few
raises. But one group of employees has weathered the storm rather well:
campus diversity administrators.

CJ: Wilmington ballpark bond In November lineupWILMINGTON — The City Council voted unanimously
Tuesday night to place a $37 million bond referendum on the Nov. 6
ballot. If voters approve the bonds and all goes as planned, a Class A
Atlanta Braves affiliate could begin playing in a 5,500-seat riverfront
stadium by 2014.

N.C. businesses sweat looming defense cutsFAYETTEVILLE — In battle, the U.S. military is a mighty force, strong
and confident. In matters of money, though, it has turned skittish,
delaying or canceling contracts for research, products and services it
isn’t sure it will be able to afford after Jan. 2.

Wall Street divided over fate of Duke CEO RogersRALEIGH — A month after Duke Energy’s abrupt ouster of CEO Bill Johnson,
Wall Street remains divided over how much of a threat the controversy
poses to the Charlotte-based power company and longtime CEO Jim Rogers.

This week on C J Radio…JLF’s Jon Sanders offers examples of crony capitalism in North Carolina; Auditor Beth Wood details for legislators her office’s conflict with ALE leaders over use of state-owned vehicles; entrepreneurs respond to President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” comment; Bryan Riley of the Heritage Foundation discusses the poor free trade record of North Carolina’s congressional delegation; and JLF’s Fergus Hodgson talks about the $2.6 billion the state owes the feds for unemployment benefits.

This week on NC Spin…Join moderator Tom Campbell
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. Topics this week: Graduation rate at modern day high; Mental Health Reform 2.0; sequestration could cost 12,000 jobs in NC; and gun wars raging. This week’s panelists: John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation;Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; former Attorney General and Secretary of State Rufus Edminsten; and former legislator Gene Arnold.